Team PokerStars vs The Professionals headed for London

by Brad Willis on March 5, 2013 10:07 AM

I just got off a conference call that I never really expected to take. Among the people on the line were Daniel Negreanu and Gus Hansen. They were talking about an upcoming Battleship-style poker event. And they were talking trash.

"We grew up as live poker players. I've never played this Battleship style before," Hansen said. "It's still poker, and it's still against Daniel, so I'll be fine."

Gus Hansen

"I don't hate Gus. I think he's a good guy," Negreanu said. "But needling him is a lot of fun. There is a lot of material there."

If you're trying to catch up, here are the Cliff's Notes:

Some time ago, Negreanu and Hansen played a big hand on High Stakes Poker that involved Hansen beating Negreanu with quads versus a full house. Ancient history? Hardly. Hansen won't let it go.

Hansen accepted the challenge. Here's how it's going to work. Negreanu picked two teammates (Isaac Haxton and ElkY). Hansen picked two players (Viktor Blom and Tom Dwan). Each of the players will play one of the others on the Full Tilt software live during EPT London on March 10. The team that wins the most matches wins the cash--$50,000 from his opponent, and the winning team getting $10,000 in tournament buy-ins from the rival poker room.

Daniel Negreanu

Here's what the match-ups will look like on the FTP software:

Viktor "Isildur1" Blom vs Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier

Tom "durrrr" Dwan vs Isaac "luvthewnba" Haxton

"Gus Hansen vs Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu

"I think the $50,000 should be enough to motivate anybody. It's a close call," Hansen said. "I think I would take the $50,000 over the bragging rights. On the other hand, it's so much fun to beat Daniel."

Each match will consist of three heads-up tournaments at 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00 GMT. You will be able to watch the matches on the FTP software (while you're at it, pair your two accounts).

We will be in London for the EPT, so chances are we'll head over that direction and give you a little look at what's happening.